Twilight was aware she was sore before she was aware she was awake. Her head and back burned and her whole left side was throbbing. She tried to get up and instantly regretted it.
Arc Reactor is at 19%. Armor is…
I’m not wearing the armor.
Her eyes shot open and she tried to stand. Her legs were slow to cooperate, and before she could a hoof pushed against her shoulder. “Wait, I don’t think you’re—”
Twilight panicked and rolled away frantically, landing on the hard concrete floor with considerably more force than she wanted. Pain spiraled across her body and made it difficult to breathe. She drove herself to her hooves anyway, trying to get her bearings.
There was a dark purple mare with a sharp brown mane and gentle eyes looking at her with concern. She wore a standard SHIELD uniform, with a bandolier over it that marked her as part of the Rescue Hero division. She was holding a circular device that was lit up a soft red. “What I was trying to say,” she said calmly, “is that I’m trying to treat your injuries. Just calm down. You’re safe.”
Twilight would have snickered at the word ‘safe’ if it hadn’t been for all the terrible pain. “Who are you? How long was I out?”
“Sunset Shimmer said for about half an hour.” The mare’s expression was calm, but her ears were shifting suspiciously as she leaned forwards. “My name is Ariel Flyer. Sunset called in a favor to look after you, so I need you to let me help you. Okay?”
It could be a trap—
Twilight took a deep breath, winced as her ribs reminded her that she shouldn’t do that, and forced herself to nod. Ariel helped her back onto the gurney. “If you’re a flyer,” she asked to distract herself, “why the medical… stuff?”
“I’m a doctor trained to evacuate high-risk environments.” Twilight knew Ariel was just trying to calm her down, and she had to remind herself that she’d wanted to be distracted. Her whole brain felt discombobulated. “I often need to stabilize people before I can move them.” She held up the disc and it turned transparent. Twilight could see Ariel’s skull through the lense and guessed that it was some kind of X-ray device.
“Okay,” Ariel continued. “I don’t see any major internal injuries. These ribs aren’t healing right; you’ll need to reset them in a hospital.” She clicked the disc into place on her bandolier and it turned to silver, displaying the proud scarlet R of the Rescue Heroes logo. “Let me give you something for the pain.”
“...No painkillers,” Twilight managed. “I need to… think clearly.” The pain was making thinking a lot harder than it needed to be, but the fear of losing her mind crawled under her skin.
“It’s not a drug,” Ariel patiently said. She rummaged in the oversized backpack and carefully pulled out a strip of bandages. “These are made to soak up some of the pain and hold the ribs in place. They’ll only last a few hours, so make sure you see a real doctor.”
Twilight reluctantly nodded, sighing as the fierce pain began to leave. “Thanks.” She rolled off the side of the gurney and, ignoring Ariel’s protests, began to change. She teleported her shirt, vest, and bow-tie around her and winced as her vision flickered for a moment. Twilight closed her eyes and checked the Reactor, which was lower than it should have been. She almost began to panic before realizing that she was just too tired to cast the spell efficiently. “Okay,” she said. “Can you see any of my injuries under this?”
She looked back and was surprised to see Ariel swell up in rage. “You can’t seriously think that’s important right now?”
Twilight’s head was somewhat clearer, and now she was beginning to worry. I need an alibi. And I need to see if Hypnotia got away. And I need to see if they got away with anything, and I need to figure out what to do with the staff she affected… “I’m very busy,” was what she settled on.
“You’re hurt!” Ariel exclaimed. “You can’t look after anyone else until you treat your own injuries.”
“They’re treated! See?” Twilight tried to point at her side and stopped as the pain began to overwhelm the bandage. “I’m fine.”
Ariel looked angry enough to tackle Twilight, but from somewhere behind her, Sunset spoke up. “Hey, let me talk to her, okay? I promise I can manage her.”
Ariel glared at Twilight for a moment longer, before looking over her shoulder to glare at Sunset. “Make sure she gets to rest,” she insisted. “I know how hard you push yourself.”
“I take care of my friends,” Sunset said. “Remember the Academy?”
“If I didn’t I wouldn’t be here.” Ariel glanced through the window behind her. “I don’t like lying to Chief Blazes.”
“I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important,” Sunset soothingly said. “Trust me, you’re doing SHIELD a huge favor.”
Twilight watched Ariel reluctantly leave. My heart is hammering, she distantly noted. I shouldn’t be nervous. I proved I can trust Sunset…
But she still felt the persistent sensation of paranoia. She’d thought she was safe before and—
And she’d been wrong.
And then she’d been trapped.
And then there wasn’t anything she could —
“Twilight!”
Sunset had moved across from Twilight and was watching her. Twilight closed for a second, trying to slow her breathing. Her scars felt hot and her side pulsed with pain, and she abruptly sat down. Sunset mirrored her, moving slowly and not coming closer. “Are you okay?”
“...I can work.” She automatically reached with her magic to make sure the door was shut, but a small twinge in her chest stopped her. Twilight walked over and checked it herself. “Did we get Hypnotia?”
“No.” Twilight heard a real growl in Sunset’s voice. “Believe me, you’ll know when I nail her.”
“Get in line.” Twilight changed to Earth Pony magic. Its effect was passive and barely drained the reactor, and she felt better with some magic at her disposal. “What’d they get away with?”
“SHIELD’s still looking,” Sunset said, “But they did get away with one of the Golems. Pinkie called it the Awesome Android.”
Twilight snickered. “That’s a Pinkie Pie name. They’re okay, right?”
“Yes, but Twilight—”
“Good,” she said, “I need a list of everything that was stolen. If we can narrow down what Hypnotia knew to target, maybe we’ll have an idea who—”
“Twi.”
Sunset was using one of her no-nonsense tones. Twilight turned back around and she was all business. Gently, Sunset said, “I need to know what happened.”
Slowly Twilight nodded. She tried to focus, to think of just one place so she could start, but everything just seemed so important that it was hard to sort through it all. “AIM kidnapped me,” she decided, “but they weren’t just lucky. They knew I was going to be there. They brought the installation down using Spark Industries weapons.”
There was more about the attack she still couldn’t put into words. She’d seen people hurt because of weapons she built to keep them safe. She sat in a metal box waiting to die. She’d run and run and thought she’d gotten away, only to find a bomb with her name printed on it.
She remembered laughing while she bled. It was almost too on the nose.
Twilight tried to breathe smoothly. This was just facts, she could do facts. “I was injured in the attack. I can’t generate magic naturally anymore, but my—” Doctor? Friend? Victim? “Fellow prisoner managed to save my life.”
“What about the suit?”
“We worked on the first one together.” Twilight smiled. “It was one of the most complicated builds I’ve ever had to do. We were going to escape but— but in the confusion, she died.”
The words sounded hollow to Twilight. She died, like that was the only thing that mattered. “I didn’t know who Hypnotia had brainwashed,” she pressed on, “so I did the only sensible thing I could.”
“Vigilantism.”
“I had to do something!” Twilight didn’t remember standing, she was suddenly just in Sunset’s face.”I got people hurt! The soldiers protecting me, the guards I killed escaping, Moondancer—”
Her words just ran out as Twilight said her name. She looked down. “I spent years not caring about anyone else getting hurt, and it caught up with me. So I can’t just let this go. I have to be the one to make it right. Or—”
Or why am I here instead of her?
“I just do,” she said instead. “Or I will, at least. No matter how hard it is.”
Sunset nodded. “...I can help.”
“You will?”
“We can’t trust SHIELD,” Sunset said. “Anyone could be compromised, now or later. But I need you to work with me. You have a lot to learn.”
Twilight was nodding, had started nodding when Sunset had started talking. “Of course! Absolutely! Thank you!”
“Hey!” Sunset grinned and took a nervous step back. “Twi. You’re my best friend. You’re the smartest pony I know, and I’m the best SHIELD agent they have. If anyone can make this work, it’s you and me.”
“You and I.”
“Don’t make me regret this.” Sunset’s eyes swept down as she looked Twilight over. “Your make-up spells weren’t broken; I can’t see that you were hurt at all. But Ariel is right, you’re going to get a real check-up as soon as I figure out how.”
Twilight nodded again; she’d expected to have to put up with Sunset worrying about her health. “Before that, I need to make sure my alibi is working.”
Sunset nodded. “We’ll need an excuse for the bruise on your head, but your burns aren’t visible… how do they feel.”
“Fine.”
“Twilight…”
“Fine!” Twilight protested. “I forgot about them until you said something.”
Sunset nodded again. “Okay, but after we establish your alibi I want to look you over myself.”
Twilight shook her head. “Not right after. You need to do your job or SHIELD will get suspicious. And I’ve got something I should have taken care of forever ago.”
Spike’s hands didn’t shake as he prepared the tea. “Here we go,” he said steadily. “And the coco will be done in a minute, Starlight.”
“Thanks, Spike!” Pinkie said. She poured herself a cup of sugar cubes and held it out for tea. “So, what was she like?”
Spike only kept his hands still from long years of practice. “Sorry?”
“Iron Mage!” She slurped from her teacup and earned a disapproving look from Fluttershy. “She fought off all those ponies and all the golems and won and then escaped!”
“She ruined our Golems,” Starlight corrected, “And AIM still got away with some of them. We’re lucky the operators are alright.”
“I don’t know what to think of her,” Spike admitted. He gently breathed on a mug, warming the milk inside and carefully adding chocolate. “Here you go, Star. Anyway, she was trying to stop AIM, but I don’t know how much she cared about us.”
“Maybe our next project should be to figure out how that suit works,” Starlight said. “We could sell it to SHIELD, call it the next generation of Gaurdsmare armor…”
“The boss doesn’t like building weapons anymore,” Pinkie pointed out.
“Twilight doesn’t like us anymore either,” Starlight grumbled. Pinkie’s ears went flat and she silently drank more tea. Fluttershy patted her forelocks comfortingly.
“That’s not fair,” Spike said. “She’s been avoiding everyone.”
“We’re supposed to be her friends.” Starlight said. She stared at her mug, tail twitching angrily behind her. “I know she’s having a hard time, but—”
The door quietly opened, and Twilight stuck her head in. There was a bruise on the side of her head that was slowly fading, and she looked none the worse for wear. “Hey, girls.”
“Hi Twilight!” Pinkie exclaimed. She held up her cup of sugar. “Come and have tea with us!”
“Thanks, Pinkie.” Twilight pulled up a small bench to the table and sat down, though Spike noticed she didn’t take a teacup. “How are all of you feeling?”
“Pretty freaked out,” Spike said. “But fine. What about you?”
“I teleported inside a wall trying to get away,” Twilight said ruefully. “I was thrown out and hit my head. The doctors said that it’ll heal in a few hours. Plus I managed to avoid seeing Iron Mage.”
“Good thing too,” Spike said. “She still doesn’t like you.”
“Sunset said she was helpful,” Twilight said slowly, “maybe she’s not that bad?”
“You are way too forgiving,” Starlight said. “I’m not going to sleep easy until we figure out who she really is.”
“I’m way more scared of, ya know,” Pinkie frowned a little as she tried to talk. “Hypnotia.”
Spike shivered. The name still felt like it had weight behind it.
“She can just make us do stuff,” Pinkie said, “even if it’s mean or… anything. I barely remember anything, just all, all of those... flashing…” She stared off into space before Fluttershy nudged her. She blinked and took another noisy sip of tea. “Do you guys remember stuff?”
“I do.” Starlight glared at her mug so fiercely that Spike was worried she’d break it. “She turned me into an idiot and forced me to like it.” She started to lose control of her field, and she set her mug down before the sparks could get larger. “I— it was awful.”
Spike put his hand on Starlight’s shoulder. The mare didn’t usually like people touching her, but she just sighed. “Why didn’t it work on you?” Starlight asked Twilight. “Is there like, a mantra or…”
Her voice trailed off as Twilight froze completely except for her eyes. They flicked back and forth between each of her friends, stopping when they got to Spike. “Well,” she said slowly. “Hypnotia made a mistake when she first tried to… brainwash me.” She started to chew on part of her mane but stopped when she noticed and swept it behind her ear. “I… If you have something important to hold onto, an idea or a memory, then you can block her out.”
“What was yours?” Pinkie casually asked. Fluttershy pressed a wing against her mouth to keep her from talking, prompting a lot of indignant ‘Mmphs!’ that went essentially unnoticed.
“You girls,” Twilight said. “And Sunset. She threatened you.”
Twilight stared at the table as everyone stared at her. Pinkie pushed Fluttershy’s wing off and moved to stand, but Twilight shook her head. “Look, I’ve been paranoid ever since AIM kidnapped me. I’ve been afraid to trust anything, but you girls are my friends. And I can’t just give up on you. I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long, and if you’ll have me, I’d love to work with you again.”
This time, there was no putting off Pinkie’s tackle hug. Twilight wasn’t knocked to the ground but she flinched. “Pinkie, please don’t do that.”
“Sorry,” Pinkie said as she pulled back, “but I’m just so excited! We’re gonna have you back! I missed you so much!”
“Okay,” Starlight said. “Reign it in, Pinkie.” She looked at Twilight and winced. “Look, about what I said earlier…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Twilight said. “You were right. I’ve been away for way too long. Besides, where else am I gonna find better minds for my new project.”
“New project?” Pinkie gasped.
Twilight nodded. “We’re gonna find a way to break Hypnotia’s powers.”
Neighsay hated using codenames. So many operatives used it as an attempt to be creative and none of them were any good at it. Trixie Lunamoon, for example. What was a Hypnotia? It didn’t sound like a pony name, and it wasn’t particularly clever. It was nonsense and if the mare the name was attached to wasn’t of such use she would have been reprimanded.
Trixie sat across from his desk, crying softly. He wished he could take credit after her mission's dismal outcome, but AIM’s benefactor had wanted to speak with her personally. She’d started proudly but her resolve had broken in short order.
Under the spirals, the mare was thin as a rake, almost unhealthy. Her Cutie Mark had been a crescent moon and a magic wand, but they were buried under inky black magic. The shades of black and dark blue trailed across her body as though they were alive and dove into her eyes. They were filled with darkness, and the only sign that she had them was the trail of tears that leaked across her face.
It was a disquieting sight. Not because Trixie herself, of course; the mare possessed few redeeming qualities and most of them were covered up by her attitude. But the level of influence their benefactor wielded over her chosen gave him pause.
Trixie jerked, nearly slipping off her chair before straightening. Neighsay allowed her to regain her composure before speaking; while he would have preferred to berate her, breaking her down so completely would make her a less effective operative. “Have you been informed of your mistakes?”
“Yes sir,” she said quietly.
“Then we shall go over your successes, meager as they are.” Neighsay levitated his notes closer to his face, resolving to get reading glasses at his earliest convenience. “AIM has made an impression and a largely effective one. Despite being driven off by Iron Mage, you easily broke SHIELD’s defenses. While you didn’t successfully create any thralls, most of the people your power touched are being prohibited from working. The main target was stolen, and Iron Mage was wounded in the battle.”
Neighsay watched the mare’s pride begin to inflate and immediately moved to stab it. “You are no longer allowed to lead missions.”
He’d expected the mare to protest, but she simply looked hurt. “A search for a replacement is currently in progress, though I imagine you know who will be chosen to replace you.” The pony who should have been in charge of this operation to begin with, he added silently. “You will remain the public face of AIM so long as you can represent us in a good light. If something jeopardizes that, you will be removed. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir,” she quietly said again.
He glared at her and jerked his head at the door. She fled.
Neighsay sighed. He’d agreed to let the benefactor have more leeway than many had thought wise, because of the power that had been offered. He hadn’t taken any himself, of course; he was no fool. But he had allowed it’s experimentation more agency than had perhaps been wise.
The situation is stable enough for now, he decided. And it’s not as though AIM were completely helpless. The Makluan project was well on its way, and there would be new AIM Golems inside the month.
Neighsay generally restrained himself from evil laughter; there wasn’t much point if no one was there to shrivel in fear from it. But he found himself wishing for that sort of audience as he stroked his beard and plotted AIM’s next move.